


starlight & star-crossed

by jakepuhralta



Category: The Try Guys (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/M, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23526202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakepuhralta/pseuds/jakepuhralta
Summary: Ned Fulmer goes to his friend's flower shop grand opening party and meets the love of his life.
Relationships: Ariel Fulmer/Ned Fulmer
Kudos: 18





	starlight & star-crossed

**Author's Note:**

> a ned/ariel fic request for rez! this is partly based on the true story of how ned met ariel, as he wrote in _the hidden power of f*cking up._

_Chicago, Illinois, 2009._

Ned Fulmer pulled his coat tighter around him, shivering in the frigid Chicago winter air. He had been walking for almost half an hour, and he still couldn't find the flower shop.

He rubbed his hands together and blew on them. On top of being cold, he was also lost. He sighed in frustration. _Why did Becca's flower shop's grand opening have to be at night?_

He had not been in Chicago long, so he didn't have the streets of the city memorized. He walked for five more minutes before deciding that he was finally going to ask someone for directions, but then stopped in his tracks. There in pink neon lights, it said, _Full Bloom_ , with neon tubes shaped like a bouquet of flowers underneath it.

Through the store windows, he could see it was brightly lit, with pale pink and blue balloons everywhere and people milling around, champagne glasses in hand. He had finally found it.

He pushed the door open, a bell clanking above it, but no one noticed him. He instantly felt self-conscious, not knowing anyone there except for his friend Becca. He craned his neck to look around for her, but couldn't see her.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should leave.

He turned around to head towards the door, when Becca appeared right in front of him. "Ned! There you are! What took you so long?"

"Hey, Becca. Look, I'm sorry I'm late, but having your grand opening at night when it's _so cold,_ plus I haven't been to this part of the city before-"

"Oh, honey. This isn't the grand opening of Full Bloom. This is just the _party._ The grand opening is tomorrow," Becca said.

"I guess that makes more sense. Why would a flower shop have its grand opening at night?" Ned said to himself.

Ned looked around. The store was already filled to the brim with flowers, exquisitely and beautifully arranged. Sunflowers, roses, daisies, tulips, orchids, and other specimens he didn't know overwhelmed him. He knew nothing about flower arrangements but even he could tell whoever was behind it knew what they were doing.

"It's so pretty in here, Becca," Ned said.

"Ugh, I know, right? Come on," she said, grabbing Ned's arm and pulling him forward. "I want you to meet everyone."

Becca was one of Ned's close friends that he made during his Yale days. He didn't know a lot of people when he moved to Chicago to pursue comedy, but knowing at least one person he could rely on lived in the same city made him feel better.

Ned realized how small the party actually was. There were only eight other people aside from him and Becca. For a 'grand opening party' of a flower shop, this was weird. Everyone in the room looked to be around the same age as him. Where were the store's investors, or Becca's family friends?

Eventually, Becca and a couple of girls brought out some blankets and throw pillows and urged everyone to sit on the floor and talk. Ned wondered why Becca didn't just have this party in her apartment. This party definitely wasn't legit, even if it was true that Full Bloom's grand opening was tomorrow.

Ned was tired at this point--even though he and Becca were close, he really didn't know what he was doing here. 

Until he locked eyes with a girl.

She was sitting across from him, all silky blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He had not noticed or talked to her when Becca introduced him to everyone. It was probably because he refused to make eye contact with anyone, but now that he had seen her, he did not want to leave the party.

She smiled at him, politely, then looked away.

While some of the other people talked and shared stories, the girl listening intently, Ned nudged Becca. "Hey. What's her name?" he whispered, pointing at the girl.

"That's Ariel Vandevoorde."

Even her name was beautiful like her. "I didn't know you had such gorgeous friends."

Becca elbowed him. "Go talk to her, you idiot."

Thankfully, no one was sitting on Ariel's right side, so Ned didn't have to experience any awkwardness asking people to move. "Hi."

Ariel turned to him. "Hi. Ned, right? Becca's friend from Yale?"

"That's me. And you're Ariel," he said, not as a question. "How do you know Becca?"

"We've been friends since childhood. She was my next-door neighbour," Ariel replied.

They talked about how Ariel spent her high school years in London, then took a gap year before college to hike across Costa Rica. Ned talked about growing up in Florida, his passion for robotics and science as a kid, but that he was now pursuing his dream of being a comedian. They found out they had a lot in common with their love for travelling. 

With that, Ned and Ariel talked for hours, but to them, it only felt like a few minutes. 

They barely even noticed when Becca and her friends started gathering champagne flutes and tidying up the shop, signalling that the party had come to a close. They were still talking to each other, when Becca finally snapped her fingers at their faces. "Hey! Lovebirds! It's time to go."

Ariel giggled. "It was really nice talking to you, Ned," she said, as he pulled her to her feet. "I hope I see you again."

At this point, Ned was lovestruck, his head feeling light. "I hope so too." His cheeks hurt from smiling. "Goodbye, Ariel."

After a few more niceties with the rest of the party, he left Full Bloom and walked to the nearest train station, too in love to worry about getting lost again.

********

Ned woke up with a gasp.

"Shit, shit," he muttered, clutching his head. "How in the everloving _fuck_ did I forget to ask for her number?"

He grabbed his phone from his bedside table, hoping against hope he might've actually asked for it during their conversation but blacked it out somehow.

He went through his contacts, but there was no one named Ariel.

Ned took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, everything's gonna be okay," he muttered like a maniac. Then he sat up, realizing something. "Wait! Becca!"

He frantically called her, almost dropping his phone.

"Hello?"

"Becca! Becca!"

"Jesus Christ, Ned. Why are you yelling so early in the morning?"

"Becca, I forgot to ask for Ariel's number. I'm such an idiot. Can you please text it to me? Please?"

"I don't know how to break this to you but girls generally find it creepy when guys text them out of the blue because they got their number from someone else."

"Well then, how am I gonna talk to her again? Please, Becca-"

"Just go to her personally. She's the manager at Full Bloom. Now leave me alone." 

Becca hung up, but Ned didn't even care.

He rushed to the bathroom to take a shower.

********

Ned had arrived about an hour after the store had already opened. The doorway was decorated with balloons similar to those he saw at the party last night, with a banner that said GRAND OPENING.

To his delight, about a dozen people were already inside, looking at the flowers and talking to the florists. Ariel was behind the counter, ringing up sales. He had no personal stakes in the success of Full Bloom, but its success meant Ariel would be employed.

He was almost to the door when he stopped, the feeling of intense nervousness heating up his body. _What am I doing?_ he thought. _Am I really gonna go into this busy flower shop to ask for the number of a girl I just met last night?_

He walked further away so Ariel wouldn't accidentally see him from the window. He paced back and forth on the sidewalk, almost colliding with angry Chicagoans, but he didn't care.

"Am I doing this? Am I doing this? Am I doing this?" he muttered to himself over and over.

 _How do I actually feel about this girl?_ he thought. _Am I just lonely?_

But then he thought about last night. How he had _never_ in his life experienced love at first sight before then. He had dated a few girls in high school and college, and while he liked them, he had never felt about them the way he felt about Ariel.

"Maybe this is something," he muttered. 

"You okay, buddy?" a homeless man, whom Ned didn't notice was standing next to him, asked. "You got some change?"

Ned dipped his hand into his pocket and cheerily dropped a dollar bill into the man's hand. "I gotta try," he said, as if the homeless man knew what he was talking about. "I gotta see this through."

"Uhh, okay, man, whatever you say."

Ned left the homeless man there and walked back to the flower shop. In the fifteen minutes he had been muttering and pacing, he could see the store was filled to the brim. Ariel was still behind the counter.

He sighed, knowing logistically, at that point in time, there was no good way to do it.

He nodded determinedly to himself. He just had to catch her at the right time.

********

Ned texted Becca to ask what time Full Bloom closed. He figured he could catch Ariel half an hour before she had to close up, that way the store won't be so busy but then he wouldn't be in the way of her attending to her managerial duties.

He spent the entire day walking around Chicago city proper, working up the nerve, checking in on himself to see if he was actually sure about this ( _Get it together, Fulmer. You're asking for her number, not her hand in marriage._ ), practicing what he would say.

He daydreamed about this thing with Ariel working out, _if_ there was even something there, and realized Chicago wouldn't be a bad city to meet the love of his life in.

He was now back on the street where Full Bloom was. It was getting dark, and the store's neon sign was brightly lit up pink. 

He pushed open the door.

Half of the store's flowers were now gone, and he felt happy for Becca but also Ariel. He touched the petals of a sunflower, working up his nerve at the last minute. 

"Hello, sir, can I help you?"

Ned looked up to see a young female store attendant in a white apron. He glanced at the counter to see it was now a guy, typing on a computer.

"Is Ariel Vandevoorde still here?"

The attendant narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and Ned started panicking internally that she thought he was a stalker. "She- she's just a friend of mine-" Ned stuttered.

"I'm sorry, sir, she left a few hours ago when her shift ended."

 _FUCK!_ Ned thought to himself. Why would he assume Ariel would be working the entire day? She must have had an assistant manager that took over for her when her shift ended.

_Way to go, Fulmer._

"Oh. Okay. Umm. Can I get a half-dozen bouquet of sunflowers then? It's for my mom."

********

Ned walked away from the store, his shoulders slumped, a bouquet of sunflowers he didn't need or want in one hand. A group of teenagers walking by spotted him and yelled, "Better luck next time, dude!" and laughed, but he ignored them.

He sighed. Logically he knew he could always come back tomorrow. But what if the store was busy again? What if Ariel wasn't even working tomorrow? Should he just call Becca again and ask? But what if Becca didn't know the store's roster? Should he ask Becca for her address? What if Becca called the police?

He was already a couple of blocks from Full Bloom, when he heard a voice.

"Ned?"

He turned around. Right behind him, as if he had conjured her with his mind, was Ariel.

"Ariel," he gasped. "I- what are you doing here?"

"I just got a few drinks with some friends at a bar a few blocks from here." She pointed at the sunflowers in Ned's hand. "Are those from Full Bloom?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Ariel grinned. "I saw you."

"What?"

"I saw you earlier today, outside the store. From the window. You kept peering in, as if you were psyching yourself up for something. Then you disappeared. I thought you were gonna come back, but you never did. Or at least," she gestured at the flowers, "you came back when I wasn't there anymore."

"I was psyching myself up to... to go see you. I wasn't there to buy flowers."

"Why? What's up?"

"I forgot to ask you for your number last night. I called Becca to ask her, but she wouldn't give it to me-"

Ariel laughed. "Typical Becca."

"So I came back to Full Bloom but the store was so busy. I didn't want to bother you. I thought I'd come back again just before the store closed so it wasn't busy, but they told me you already left."

The smile on Ariel's face grew. Ned's heart was beating faster than it had ever been.

"You wanna know something funny, Ned?" she asked, plucking a sunflower from the bouquet Ned was holding.

"What?"

Ariel fished into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "I was ready for you to actually come into the store. The second there weren't any people lining up, I wrote this down to give to you when you did."

Ned took the piece of paper while Ariel sniffed the sunflower.

He unfolded it to find ten numbers.

He smiled. Ariel raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say, _Well?_

"We just met last night. Why do I feel like there's something big ahead of us?" Ned asked, more to himself.

Ariel shrugged. "I don't know. But in the twelve hours since I've met you, I felt like something shifted. Like my life's about to change somehow. And when I saw you outside the store this morning, I felt like it was a sign." She paused. "Can I keep the flowers?"

Wordlessly, Ned held out his hand for her to take before he realized what he was doing. Ariel clasped it with hers with no hesitation, and they walked into the cold Chicago night.

_The end._


End file.
